Where do we go from here?
by JC HOYT
Summary: Will & Frankie are figuring out their new relationship
1. Chapter 1

Frankie and Will had gotten together in Prague. Will had told her it couldn't be a one time thing for him. In turn she told him she needed to take it slow. He agreed but knew it was going to be difficult. Now that they had finally crossed that invisible line that had been keeping them apart he wanted everything with her.

They got on the plane to go back home. "So where do we go from here?" He asked.

"Home. We're on the plane" she teased. He just stared at her, unamused.

"I'm hilarious" she said, smiling at her own joke.

"Are you though?" He said scrunching up his face teasingly.

"I want to keep it between us. For a while" she said answering his question.

"Fair enough" he said "But it is going to be hard to not do this" he said leaning over to kiss her. "Especially since I've wanted to for so long and now I finally can" he grinned happily.

"We'll still do plenty of that, just in private" she assured him.

"You really don't think the team will figure it out?" He asked.

"If they do I'm sure it will be because of you" she said giving him a knowing look.

"Hey I can't help it if I'm super proud of my boo bear" he teased.

"Ewww absolutely not" she said making a face.

"No to boo bear, noted. How about Baby?" He suggested

"How about no" she said.

"Bae? Boo? Babe? Honey? Sweetie? Love bug? Pumpkin? Sugar butt?"

"I will kill you" she said, glaring at him, causing him to laugh.

"We'll just see what develops" he nodded.

"I'm hoping Susan and Ray will be enough of a distraction to keep the focus off us for a while" she said.

"Yeah that's going to take some getting used to" He said.

"Are you okay with it?" She asked.

"Ray's not a bad guy" he said to which she raised an eyebrow

"You might actually be the nicest guy in the world" she said with a smirk, shaking her head. Only Will would forgive a guy that stole his fiancee and lied to him for seven months while being his best friend.

He laughed "I know you're making fun of me but I'm still going to take that as a compliment. Anyway it seems like they really care about each other so I support it a million percent. I love love" he smiled brightly.

She bit her lip and watched his face, finding him adorable despite her best efforts.

"Wow I'm so proud of you. I set you up perfectly and you didn't come back at me with a snarky comment. That's personal growth" he said patting her leg.

"I wanted to though" she said with a mischievous grin.

"Partial credit then but still growth!" he said, ever positive.

"So are we going to go on dates or how's that gonna work?" He asked, getting back to the original conversation.

"Oh my God you're going to be exhausting aren't you?" She sighed

He shrugged "A normal person wouldn't think so but to you probably"

"Can we stop talking about it for now if I let you hold my hand for a little while?" She offered.

"Deal" he said quickly wrapping her hand up in his. "Look at that we're already great at compromising" he grinned and settled in for the long flight home.

Once they were back with the team Susan quickly read them and gave them a huge knowing smile and made a motion of zipping her lips to let them know their secret was safe with her.

Will looked at his watch "Well that didn't take long" he said to Frankie. She downed her drink in one gulp and shoved her glass at Will to refill, clearly uncomfortable with having been found out.

Once Susan was sworn to secrecy Frankie loosened up a bit. She even spoke about Will to her a little while Susan endlessly overshared about her and Ray.

Will and Frankie settled into a routine over the next month of hanging out at Will's place when then they weren't on missions, sharing movie nights, take out and wine the same as they had been doing. They pretty much kept separate during missions because they didn't want to have any slip ups being on Comms and because of Jai's propensity to bug them.

"You know it doesn't actually feel like much has changed" she told him in bed one night. She allowed for a limited amount of post sex cuddling.

"We have sex now, that's a pretty big change" he grinned. "Now if I could just convince you to stay over that would be another welcome change" he said hopefully.

Her face went blank "You said you wouldn't push me" she said getting up to get dressed.

"It's been a month, I think things are going great. I just want to keep moving forward" he explained gently.

He saw the uneasy look on her face and decided to drop it. He got up out of the bed and threw on a shirt and shorts "I'll walk you out" he said.

"Like I need a bodyguard" she huffed

"Well I want to protect that body" he teased which earned him an eye roll.

"You're dumb" she responded with a smile.

"Besides it's the polite thing to do when someone comes over to have sex with you, makes it feel less like a booty call" he frowned.

Frankie saw the disappointment his face and hated that she had caused it. She wanted to tell him they would get there, that she was doing her best but the words wouldn't come. Instead she took his hand and gave it a squeeze and kissed him softly.

"Goodnight Frankie" he said softly

"Goodnight Will" she repeated.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day they were assigned a new mission so they went 5 days without having any time alone together. The most contact they had was a kiss snuck in here and there when they were sure they were alone and not being watched or listened in on. When they finally got back home they had had an exhausting day of traveling and everyone was cranky and just wanted to get home to sleep.

The next day at the dead drop he texted her pizza wine and kissy lips emojis with "tonight?" While they were having a team Intel meeting. She responded "I'll bring the ice cream" hoping he would get the reference. The slight smile he was trying to fight crossing his lips told her that he did.

He opened the door and she pulled him in for a long kiss. "I've missed that" she said. "I've missed you" he replied, running his hand tenderly across her cheek and through her hair.

"How about this?" She asked opening her coat to reveal a sexy nightgown. He swallowed hard and his eyes scanned every inch of her scantily clad body.

"My favorite nightgown. I'm not going to find a handsome stranger in the bathtub am I?" He recalled their previous conversation about total trust.

"Nope, it's just me and you" she said eyeing him seductively.

"And dinner can wait" he said scooping her up in his arms and carrying her to the bedroom hurriedly. They had very satisfying sex and decided to stay in bed for pizza and wine.

"This might be a perfect evening" he said. She watched him carefully waiting for him to say if only you'd stay the night but he didn't.

The next day Susan caught her alone "So spill girl, how's it going with Will? He's not smothering you with his emotions is he?"

"Surprisingly no. He's been really great about dialing it back" Frankie told her.

"So he's probably ready to explode" Susan smiled knowingly "I'll check in with him next"

"I see the disappointment on his face sometimes. I know he wants more you know. I just can't give it to him" she said frowning.

"Girl give yourself a break, you have come so far since we met you. Change doesn't happen over night. Besides Will Lov uh I mean likes you for you. He's always had a thing for emotionally unavailable women. He likes a challenge and you my friend couldn't be more of a challenge"

"Thank you?" Frankie said skeptically. "So how about you and Ray? How's that going?" Frankie asked.

"So great. I know he seems like a big goofball but he's a loveable goofball" she said fondly.

"Yeah I swore I wouldn't allow him to be a part of this team, hell this family, but he wormed his way in and he's really grown on all of us. I'm honestly glad he didn't die a horrible painful death back in Prague. I do wish Tina had though" she frowned.

"I take joy in Standish having been the one to kill that bitch and she knew it" Susan said. "Wow, I'm not usually this violent. You may be a bad influence on me"

"I'm not sorry for that" Frankie grinned. I'm happy for you. You deserve it. I don't know if Ray does" she told her half jokingly.

"So do you so don't fight it so hard" Susan told her placing a hand on her shoulder before going to find Will. She found him reviewing a file.

"Hey Susan what's up?" he greeted her

"I was just talking to your girl and she says you're being very patient and that's not the Will I know so I thought I would come let you how does Frankie describe it? Puke your feelings all over me?" She joked causing him to laugh.

"She does have a way with words. It feels nice to hear you call her my girl, even though Frankie would likely punch us both if she had heard it"

"She's really trying, this is completely foreign territory for her"

"I know. So I'm trying too, to not push her too hard too fast, not to go full Will on her as she calls it" he said, causing her to laugh.

"Yeah just don't be yourself" she teased.

"Thanks Sus, great advice" he grinned playfully.

"You may not be exactly where you want to be yet but focus on the small wins. The fact that she didn't disappear after Prague, that she's been with you every day since then, that's huge, well for Frankie anyway. Kind of bare minimum for everyone else"

"Yeah we've got the bar set real low" Will agreed.

After their next mission Ray came up to them "Hey we're meeting up for dinner, you guys in?" He asked and they agreed.

Once they got to the agreed upon restaurant it was just Ray and Susan and just two more table settings. They looked at each other confused.

"Are Jai and Standish not coming?" Will asked as they took their seats.

"They weren't invited, this evening if for the dating team members!" Ray said with his usual enthusiasm.

Susan mouthed I'm sorry, having accidentally let the secret slip.

Frankie's face went blank, going into instant panic mode. "But we aren't dating, you are" she said without thinking.

Hearing Frankie say they weren't dating had shaken Will. "Right. Because dating would imply that you talk about feelings, tell people about your relationship, and be together outside of your home" Will said bitterly.

"Pump the brakes" Ray coughed at Will, knowing his friend was headed into dangerous territory.

Frankie glared at him, pure anger on her face , masking the hurt underneath.

"Well I'm sorry not everyone can be Emma, doggedly pursuing you and buying you expensive engraved watches 6 days in"

Will clenched his jaw in anger. Hurt written all over his face at the mention of Emma. He stared at her in disbelief for a long moment without saying anything.

"Frankie!" Susan snapped.

"I think I should go before I say something out of anger that I can't take back" Will said getting up and leaving without looking at her.


	3. Chapter 3

"Well that didn't work out quite the way I hoped" Ray said, trying to break the deafening silence as Susan sat lips pursed, glaring at Frankie.

Frankie stared back defiantly, challenging her to say something.

Ray cringed when she turned her attention to him.

"Why would you ambush us like this?" she asked angrily.

"No uh-uh Frankie this wasn't Ray's fault" Susan cut in

"No kidding. It's your fault! Why would you tell him? We trusted you!" she said, feeling betrayed, raising her voice slightly.

"Wrong again! You want to know who's fault this is Frankie? Take a good long hard look in the mirror."

Frankie opened her mouth to protest but didn't, suddenly realizing she was right.

"How could you say that to him?" She asked, not waiting for an answer.

"I'm so mad at you right now. I've been on your side, trying to help you, cheering you on because you were making headway albeit at a snails pace, and then you go and hurt Will."

"I didn't mean to" she interjected softly.

"Will is the absolute best guy in the world and he just wants to love you and be loved by you. Why is that so hard for you. You know how many women would love to be in your position " Susan said, softening slightly.

"I know. That's the problem. I don't know how to do that. You don't think I know he deserves better than me?" Frankie said, frustrated with herself. "I'm gonna go, you two enjoy your night" she said quickly leaving.

Ray followed her out "Frankie hold up" he said.

Frankie sighed at turned around to face him. "Look I know a little something about being in trouble with Will" he said sheepishly. "It's not a fun place to be. You saw how hard I tried to get back in his good graces. He really is the best guy ever"

"Is Susan okay with you having a man crush on Will?" She teased him.

He smiled "Tease me all you want Frankie, I know you care about him very much or else you wouldn't be this upset. I know you have a thing about feelings but I've been with Will a long time and I just wanted you to know that I've never seen him look at anybody the way he looks at you, not Emma, not even Gigi" he told her. He nodded at her signaling that he was done talking and turned to go.

She swallowed hard at the weight of his words.

"Hey Ray" she called.

He turned around to face her.

"Thank you" she said genuinely.

He smiled "Anytime"

She got back to the hotel and texted Will "Can we talk?"

Will stared at his phone screen imagining what she wanted to say to him. Would she apologize for the Emma comment or would she say this whole thing had been a bad idea and they should go back to being teammates? Or worse would she say she was leaving the team altogether. The last two options made his heart hurt. He wasn't ready for that conversation.

"Not now. I need some time" he replied, fighting every fiber of his being that desperately wanted to run to her.

She felt like she had been punched in the gut when she read his response. Total open book Will who wanted to do nothing but talk about his feelings refused to talk to her.

She left it alone for the night, hopeful that he will change his mind. She got into bed and kept her phone with her, hoping he would text asking if she was awake or just show up at her door. She woke up the next morning disappointed having not heard from him.

She sighed heavily and got up to get ready, they were going home today and they were seated next to each other one the plane. It might be a very long flight if he was going to continue to shut her out.

The team met up in the lobby to head to the airport.

"Where's Will? He's usually the first one ready to go" Jai said.

"He left last night, decided to take a last minute trip to visit his family before our next mission" Ray said catching Frankie's eye.

"Just heard from Ray that you're going home to visit your family. Enjoy your trip" she texted passive aggressively, feeling hurt he left without saying anything.

"Thanks. It's been a while. Safe travels home" he responded.

A few days later he Face timed Susan at the Dead Drop so his family could meet the team. Will did the introductions and his mom said they'd heard so much about the team it was nice to put faces with names. Susan told them they all love Will.

"Alright guys I'll see you soon" Will said, disconnecting.

"It was good to see you. I missed your face" Will texted Frankie

She smiled at his text "I missed your dopey smile" she responded.

He came home the next day just in time for their next mission.

Frankie had a moment alone with him before Comms came on.

"We haven't talked" she said as they wear gearing up.

"I needed to get some space to get my head straight" he said.

"And now?" She asked hopefully

"Let's just focus on the mission right now" he said flatly.

"Sure" she said walking away, feeling hurt and confused.

The plan was for them to enter the building at separate locations to secure two targets and meet at a rendezvous point to ensure they both got out undetected then they whole team would leave together.

"Hey Will. I know you don't want to talk but there's something I need to say" she said.

"Frankie we're on Comms" he reminded her.

"I know. It's for everyone. But I don't want any of you to say anything until we are done here okay" she said. "Everyone copy?"

"Ray and I copy" Susan answered.

"Same for Standish and I" Jai said.

"Will? You too" Frankie said

"Copy that" he reluctantly agreed.

"Jai, Standish you're the last to know but Will and I have been seeing each other since Prague" she said and paused to make sure no one was going to react. They didn't react out loud but Jai and Standish instantly muted themselves and were grabbing each other by the shoulders and screaming in excitement.

"Finally! That's what I'm talking about Will!" Standish said.

"Okay shhhhh we'll come back to it. She's not finished" Jai said excitedly, listening intently to his friend.

" Not surprisingly I'm already screwing it up. Will, I'm sorry I'm such a mess of a human and I know it's not easy but I promise I am trying to be better at all this emotional stuff and will keep trying if you still want to. And I really hope you still want to because I am in definitely in love with you. Whew, ok that's it, I'm going in" she said quickly starting the mission.

"Me too. Going in that is" Will corrected quickly.

"So help me God I will kill him if he doesn't say it back" Susan told Ray, worried.

They went on with the mission and secured their targets.

"I'm out" Frankie said exiting with her guy.

"Copy that, Enroute to you for pick up" Ray said. The targets would go with Ray, Susan & Standish with Jai following with Frankie and Will.

They handed off their guys and Will promptly grabbed Frankie and kissed her hard.

"I love you too" he said happily.

"Just remember who said it first" she smiled.

He kissed her again.

"Hey guys, we kind of need to get out of here. Get in, you two can play kissy face in the back" Jai said.

"So proud" Susan said over Comms.


End file.
